Be Mindful of the Company You Keep

There’s an old saying that goes, Birds of a feather flock together. In essence, that means you are associated by the company you keep. According to Stan Fine, PH.D., and author of the book Business Boot Camp for Women, the business relationships you develop should be the kind that have you reaching for the stars. If you and your business friends are constantly stumbling around and not making much progress maybe you need to change your associations.

Here are some more tips from Dr. Stan on maintaining a positive mental attitude about your business:

o Successful entrepreneurs keep their positive attitude by being careful about who they hang out with. There are always others who will readily tell you that “it can’t be done” and ” you’ll never make it”. Surround yourself with supporters. Good supporters will help you work on contingency plans and help you work around challenges without pounding you with discouragement. Avoid the “aint-it-awful” club.

o Every weekday afternoon in America, between the hours of 4:00pm and 7:00pm, there are people sitting around bars and lounges talking about how bad the world is. They bemoan the economy, the competition, the government, the company, the weather, blah, blah, blah. And they call this “HAPPY HOUR!” Don’t join the “pity party”.

o Successful entrepreneurs also develop their positive attitudes because they feed on progress. At the end of each day, instead of recounting all the difficulties and all that remains undone, write your accomplishments.

o End each day on a positive note by jotting down the three best things that happened this day.

o Often, there is no one around to acknowledge your achievements, especially those little ones that happen in the course of the day. By focusing a few minutes on your accomplishments, you give yourself a little pat on the back and recognize progress, even when small.

o Successful entrepreneurs take charge of the quality of their lives. A recent study showed only 4% of people enjoy both their work life and personal life. Many people have made financial objectives their sole concern and have paid a heavy price for their success – poor health, failed marriages, neglected friendships, no personal development in any area except business.

o Financial success, no matter how great, can never compensate for poor quality of life. A properly functioning business is supposed to be the servant of a full and satisfying life that includes good health, close and loving relationships, recreation, culture, and a powerful contribution to the community.

o The successful entrepreneur develops a personal life that is multi-dimensional. How? The solution is to take time away from your business. Free time makes you sharper. Free time provides the rejuvenation you need to restore your confidence and sense of well-being. You come back from time off with a new perspective, a higher energy level, increased creativity, and often, a breakthrough idea.

When things get busy or when business gets tough, it’s easy to let your attitude slip. Yet, this is when you most need your positive attitude. Your attitude influences your actions. When you really need positive action, remember that “it’s all in your head”. Enjoy the journey!

You Have Eight Seconds to Make a Lasting Impression

Dr. Stan Fine, author of the book, Business Boot Camp for Woman, says women in business don’t have a lot of time to waste when it comes to pitching an idea to a potential prospect.

Here’s another tidbit from my business guru:

Excerpt from Business Boot Camp for Women:

Do I really have to tell you that decision-makers avoid letting others waste their time? Must I actually point out that executives spend no more than a few minutes each day going through their mail? Yours is not likely the only letter on the prospect’s pile, so at most you have …

Eight seconds before the decision-maker will make the first yes/no decision about whether to crumple and toss.

It probably took you four seconds to read that last sentence, which has 19 words. So, at most, you have about 40 words with which to deliver your first compelling message, and thereby avoid the crumple-and-toss response. Then again, one compelling point is probably not enough to get your prospect to invest the time to read the entire piece, but a great opening can “buy” you …

Eight more seconds before the prospect makes his or her second toss/don’t-toss choice. That’s only 40 more words to make a point so compelling that the prospect will make the conscious decision to read the entire letter.

The second 40 words are probably the most critical of your letter, because they will either cause it to get tossed for good, or “buy” you …

One additional minute – the average amount of time most decision-makers will invest before making their final crumple and toss decision.

If you don’t make your first compelling point in 40 words, your next compelling point in another 40 words and keep your entire letter at 500 words or fewer, your letter won’t survive the prospect’s three crumple-and-toss decisions.

Promoting Your Business with Little or No Money

Often times when women go into business for themselves, they don’t have enough financial resources to give them a fair start.  But according to Business Expert, Dr. Stan Fine, if you know how to promote your business effectively, you may not need a lot of money to work with.  Here’s his take on  promoting your business on a shoestring budget:

Sooner or later you find yourself trying to figure new ways to get more business. We think we have done everything we can and yet something is missing. So before panic sets in I recommend that you give yourself a steroid injection of a few ideas that may help you along in getting more business.

BUSINESS PROMOTION TIPS

Research your market before committing to any promotion. What may be good for someone else may not work for you.

Plan your promotions. Don’t just throw together advertising and hope for the best. Develop promotions which take advantage of seasonal and economic changes. What worked last year may not work today, and what works today may not work tomorrow.

Evaluate your promotional program periodically. Get rid of some of the less successful promotions and replace them with other programs you feel will produce better results.

Follow the lead of the major corporations and distribute your promotional dollars between several different promotions. In small businesses this usually means 5 – 10 different promotions.

Develop promotions which communicate to the prospect what you can do to help them with their need or want. Entice prospects by offering a free estimate, special, trial period, money back guarantee, buy 1 get 1 free etc.

Budget a specific percent (%) of your projected gross income to promotion. In most businesses this averages to about 10% in new businesses (i.e. businesses less than 3 years old) this averages to about 15%.

Have a realistic ideal of what a successful promotion is. Many businesses expect a $10,000 return off a $500 investment or a new customer who will spend $50 per month for the next year.

Compare promotions like any other investment, by the percent (%) of return. Don’t expect $500 of print advertising to bring in the same amount of new business as $5,000 of radio or television advertising.

Change ad copy periodically. Different messages appeal to different customers.

Develop a habit of determining where new business is coming from. A good tracking system would allow the employees to distinguish what promotion the customer was responding to.

Dr. Stan is the author of the book Business Boot Camp for Women, available on Amazon.com

The Right Mental Attitude for Your Business

It takes a lot to run a business and I’m talking about more than just money.  You’ve got to have a plan and the right mental attitude before you even get started.

Please enjoy this article from my guru, Dr. Stan Fine, author of Business Boot Camp for Women.

So you have a new business and you are worried. It all begins with you and how you think. I am sure many of you have heard about the Secret, a book and video on “The Law of Attraction. The Video and book don’t really tell us anything new it just reconfirms what we should have been thinking So let’s start our column with your mindset and what it take to be successful:

First let’s talk about how you think:

o A positive attitude is not accidental. Successful entrepreneurs know how to create a positive attitude and positive motivation for themselves. They don’t just wait for it to happen. That would be like wanting a drink of milk, then sitting in a pasture, waiting for a cow to back up to you.

o By the way, having a positive attitude is not the same as blind optimism. I am not suggesting that you ignore the challenges in your life. I AM suggesting that you just not dwell there. What do successful entrepreneurs do to develop and maintain their positive attitude?

o First, they know what’s important. They have carefully determined what counts in their business and personal life. Highly successful people have clearly articulated values for your business in the areas of: customer service, employee relationships, cash flow, productivity, image and growth.

I also believe that there are good business tips a person must have, which I am sure you do, in order to be successful:

o Being aware of what you say to yourself inside your head (self-talk) will help you adjust your attitude. Many people beat themselves up when things go awry. When you berate yourself and tell yourself that you are “stupid” or “useless” or “an idiot”, naturally you begin to feel negative about yourself, your business, the people around you and even life itself.

o Mistakes are the fuel of creativity. Everyone makes mistakes. Smart entrepreneurs LEARN from their mistakes and move on.

o Try positive affirmations in place of negative self talk. When things get a little tense, just say to yourself “I can do this” or “We’ll find a way to make this work” or “Let’s concentrate on a solution, not who caused the problem”.

Please join us for the first in a series of Business Boot Camps for Women on October 11, 2008 in Durham, NC.

Women in Business Need to Shape up in Boot Camp!

This website was created following a wonderful and stimulating conversation I recently had with the author of the book Business Boot Camp for Women. Dr. Stan Fine has tapped into the core of what women need in order to start up and be successful in their businesses.

It is my pleasure to be associated with Dr. Stan and to offer a series of Boot Camps for Women in collaboration with him. The first of its kind will be held on Saturday, October 11 at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, NC.

One of the things Dr. Stan loves to talk about is how women must take their vision and passion for their businesses and put it into guerrilla warfare street fighting.

Well, that’s what we’re going to do at the Durham Business Boot Camp for Women. We’re going to get down and dirty and deal with the issues that hold us back as businesswomen. Celebrity actresses Bern Nadette Stanis and Debbie Zipp will be on hand to share their experiences about Hollywood’s treatment of aging actresses and how they were forced to shift career gears. There will also be other women on hand to share their start-up business struggles and what they did to overcome them. You’ll be armed with information and other “goodies” to take home with you to help give your business the extra “boost” it may need. You’ll also be able to network with other women during a special luncheon.

This is a MUST seminar for every woman who has a business or is thinking about starting one. Why? Because Durham’s Business Boot Camp for Women is the only place where you’re going to be Educated, Empowered—and even Entertained in the process!

FREE BUSINESS HOW-TO BOOKS TO BE GIVEN AWAY. One lucky woman will receive a prize package valued at more than $500! (includes a free business consultation).

Boot Camp plus Friday night hotel accommodations is only $97.